Improved Information Fusion for enhancing Counter-Piracy Capabilities

News Report

As announced in a recent press release, an Anti-Piracy Exercise is being unveiled by an industry team led by geospatial capabilities specialist, Esri UK, during the Defence Geospatial Intelligence 2012 in London. It aims to demonstrate how, by joining up multiple sources of data and intelligence into a location-based common operational picture, faster and more informed decisions can be made.
The live demonstration will be provided by Esri UK in collaboration with exactEarth, Exelis VIS and i2, with open-source intelligence provided by IHS.

Piracy presents similar challenges to the counter insurgency operations encountered in Afghanistan. The aim is to identify, track, intercept and disrupt a highly mobile and increasingly organised network. The Anti-Piracy Exercise aims to show how data can be tasked, collected and collated, processed, exploited and disseminated between different parties to create improved situational understanding, enhance decision making and the effectiveness of joint operations.  Data sources currently used by naval task forces such as Automatic Identification System (AIS) feeds, imagery and meteorological and oceanographic (METOC) data, can be overlaid to create a common operational picture. As Esri’s ArcGIS software is an open standards-based commercial off the shelf platform a vast range of data in different formats, most of which are Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) compliant, can be integrated, from aerial reconnaissance to signals intelligence and even social network analysis.

The Technology

The Anti-Piracy Exercise draws on Esri UK’s experience as the geospatial information system (GIS) provider for the UK MoD’s Dataman GIS capability, which was successfully deployed last year in Afghanistan. Dataman integrates over 300 layers of data from intelligence and reconnaissance assets to deliver shared situational understanding throughout the command chain.

Dataman is a Geospatial Inteligence system fielded in response to an Urgent Operational Requirement by the British military in Afghanistan. Dataman is based on COTS technologies, operated by the Defense Ministry's Joint Aeronautical and Geospatial Organization (JAGO), and relies on a software backbone supplied by Esri UK.

The system is integrated within a ruggedized stack of COTS servers manufactured by Dell, packaged in two cases and weighing a total of 300kg.

System operators access the system functionalities through the GeoViewer, a computer interface which taps into the Dataman server to deliver information in a series of layers which the user can choose to have visible or not, depending on the task in hand. GeoViewer can be run near to the servers but also on laptops carried by remote operators.

At its simplest level, Dataman supplies a detailed map to its connected users. The map is not moved around from computer to computer, but held on the server: connected users access information tagged to the map, thus minimizing bandwidth requirements. Dataman allows this rich intelligence picture to be shared laterally, permitting any operator to better understand the changing nature of the space around them. Information is added to the system from a variety of sources and it is tagged to a specific location, permitting the operational units to "drill down" into the layers of data and learn about what has happened there over a period of time.

Comments

“Almost all data has a location and time so it can be plotted geographically. By bringing it together in a visual context, patterns and relationships can be seen, which might not be immediately apparent from analysing each intelligence source in isolation”, said Nick Rigby, Non-Executive Director, Esri UK. “It is this collaborative approach that can help joint forces focus their limited resources and counter the piracy threat far more effectively.”

References: ESRI (1,3), Angus Batey (2)

Contract Award: Thales and EADS to enhance the French Armed Forces' geographic database system

News Report

As announced in a recent press release, the French geographic Institute IGN (Institut Géographique National), acting as the contracting authority on behalf of the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) of the French Ministry of Defence, has contracted Thales and Cassidian to carry out the second phase of the TopoBase Défense Operation. The goal of this operation is to produce data to feed into defence geographical databases.

The preparation and conduct of military operations require the Armed Forces to be able to rely on a cartographic reference that is pertinent and accessible to everyone in order to achieve an accurate shared assessment of the operational situation. For this reason IGN selected the Thales-Cassidian consortium with Thales acting as the prime contractor for the TopoBase Défense Operation. This operation is intended to set up an appropriate system for producing geographical data (e.g. vector databases, ortho-images, raster maps, etc.) to be fed into defence geographical databases.

The Thales-Cassidian consortium is responsible for the complete process, from receipt of requirements of the Armed Forces General Staff to quality control of the products. The process also includes drafting of specifications, definition of the production reference frame (procedures, tools, testing) and the management of subcontractors in order to guarantee the consistency and homogenity of the totality of TopoBase Défense products.

The purpose of the contract, which has a duration of six years, is to supply the French Armed forces General Staff with digitised geographical data required for the operation of numerous weapon and information systems. The use of data from the TopoBase Défense Operation, which guarantees consistency of geometry and format, also contributes to system interoperability.

The Technology

Today, modern Armed Forces no longer buy imagery alone, but a global capability to meet the specifications of complex products like DEMs (Digital Elevation Models), land-cover data and multiscale vector databases through internal or outsourced production lines. This guaranty is provided by Standalone, Multi-Source Data Kits, through which suppliers undertake to provide a coherent workflow able to generate a geospatial product or family of products.

This new approach was initiated in France by the DNG3D defence programme, starting in 2002 along with the launch of Reference3D©. This product contains a DEM basemap plus a highly reliable orthoimage that serve as a foundation for most subsequent value-added products. The DNG3D system takes raw data from a wide range of commercial and military observation sensors to provide national defence systems with high-quality, high-precision geographical data.

Since 2005, the TopoBase Défense Operation (within the frame of the Multinational Geospatial Co-production Programme), ensures the industrial-scale production of a complete range of raster and vector geospatial products using imagery from 12 civil and military satellites. TopoBase is primarily a vector database with an approximate scale of 1/50 000, which also includes background images and digital terrain models that can be used by existing weapons systems.

The Context

The technological revolution that has resulted from the explosion in the use of digital technologies in the civilian world has put information at the very heart of the instruments of power. Mastery of information is one of the major capabilities to be acquired. Knowledge of the terrain over which operations will be conducted is a prerequisite for their success; armed forces must therefore be able to gather, process and distribute the geographical information needed for the proper functioning of the command and weapon systems that equip the forces engaged; this applies equally to the projection of forces or of power, characterised respectively by the deployment or otherwise of a significant number of troops on the ground.

In this new context, armed forces are called on to operate at short notice with significant dispersion of their units in remote, little known and extended theatres. This means that availability of geographical information must be improved and a large database must be created to cover regions where even mapping data may be lacking.

In 1996 the French Defence Ministry responded to this requirement with the launch of a dedicated defence programme: DNG3D (Données Numériques Géographiques et 3 Dimensions = 3D Digital Geographical Data). The DNG3D programme aimed at offering a collection system from appropriate sources, including image sources, both civil and military (primarily satellite-generated); ourchase of off-the-shelf geographical products, as well as Inter-allied procurement of geographical sources or products.

The first phase of the TopoBase Défense Operation was awarded by the DGA to the Thales-Cassidian consortium in 2005 under the DNG3D programme.

Comments

"I am very proud that the DGA has renewed its confidence in the Thales-Cassidian consortium after awarding us the first part of the TopoBase Défense Operation and the Deployable Geographic Modules project," commented Jean-Michel Lagarde, Thales Vice-President, in charge of Protection Systems. "This success is attributable to the strong complementarity between the know-how of Thales and Cassidian, and to the creation of multiple partnerships with highly innovative European SMEs specialised in geomatics. A total of nearly 150 people are combining their skills to ensure the success of this operation."

"Global information control and knowledge of the terrain constitute a crucial force multiplier for the General Staff. That is why our company is particularly proud of the confidence displayed by the IGN through its selection," added Franck Calvet, Vice-President of "Integrated Systems" at Cassidian

References: EADS (1), isprs.org (2), Thales (3), ixarm (4)

Contract Award: GeoEye to provide Web Hosting Services for US National Gospatial Intelligence Agency

News Report

As announced in a recent press release, GeoEye received two new awards worth more than $25 million for providing Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) products to the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and Boeing, respectively.

In the first of these two contracts, GeoEye will supply a significant amount of value-added commercial imagery over a large geographic area and distribute it through the Company's EnhancedView Web Hosting Service. The EnhancedView Web Hosting Service makes commercial imagery readily accessible to licensed federal customers across the National System for Geospatial-Intelligence.

As part of this new Enhanced GEOINT Delivery award, GeoEye will expand the EnhancedView Web Hosting Service to support third-party data, crisis imagery and new government portals.

The Technology

GeoEye's EnhancedView Web Hosting Service (WHS) provides users with password protected, online access to unclassified, high-resolution imagery within hours of its collection. The EnhancedView WHS evolved from the NGA's Rapid Delivery of Online GEOINT (RDOG) system that began operations in April 2010. GeoEye built the EnhancedView WHS to support users across the National System for Geospatial-Intelligence (NSG). NSG members and partners have recently used the EnhancedView WHS to improve emergency response to natural disasters in Japan and USA.

Users can access imagery through Esri's ArcGIS, Google Earth and other Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) compliant tools and automatically receive notifications when new imagery is available for their area of interest.

The EnhancedView WHS is powered by GeoEye's online access platform, EyeQ. EyeQ enables thousands of concurrent users to easily access and download hundreds of terabytes of high-resolution imagery. Recent commercial applications have combined GeoEye-1 and IKONOS satellite imagery and MJ Harden aerial imagery with data from commercial radar providers and the USDA National Agriculture Imagery Program.

The Context

GeoEye's award is authorized under the EnhancedView award that GeoEye received from the NGA in August 2010. Through the EnhancedView program, the U.S. government has made a significant commitment to the commercial imaging industry. The EnhancedView awards enable commercial data providers to create innovative new products that exploit existing imagery collection and production services, resulting in the immediate delivery of information services to federal, state, local and civil users. They support the National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) mission with timely data collection, multisource production and hosting services for immediate response, maintenance and monitoring, while incorporating evolving standards and information security requirements. This enhanced commercial GEOINT architecture allows for near realtime insertion and support for warfighters, the intelligence community, map production, humanitarian relief, and environmental and crisis response.

Commercial providers now have the opportunity to accelerate their traditional role of producing superior quality location intelligence, to include delivering products and services directly to government end-users with varying security requirements to support this significant paradigm shift in the U.S. government’s vision and mission.

Technologies made available during the EnhancedView era and beyond will provide product quality and accuracy that will be unparalleled within the GEOINT industry. As change occurs with modification or inclusion of new sensors, sources or products, technologies will continue to evolve to meet the evolving needs of tomorrow’s programs or users.

Comments

Chris Incardona, GeoEye's senior director of Government Programs – NGA, said, "We are proud to serve the NGA and other government agencies by delivering cost-effective geospatial solutions that anticipate the growing demands of their user base. These awards are a testament to the NGA's commitment to serve its federal user community with easy access to the most precise and up-to-date imagery. We will continue to expand our on-demand access capabilities with near real-time, map-ready imagery and information services."

"We have made steady investments in our EyeQ platform so our customers can quickly access and share precise imagery products to perform analysis and manage crisis response," said Chris Incardona. "The EnhancedView Web Hosting Service is the next step in our commitment to providing multi-source products, services and dissemination capabilities to help the NGA deliver online, on-demand geospatial intelligence."

References: GeoEye (1,2), V1 Magazine (3); Geospatial Intelligence Forum (4)

SAIC unveils GeoRover Mobile software solution

References: SAIC (1,2)

News Report

As reported in a recent press release, SAIC has developed a new software solution enabling the collection of Geographic Information System (GIS) data in the field with or without network connectivity, named GeoRover Mobile. The GeoRover Mobile solution can be used to collect and edit field data for use by environmental, utility, law enforcement, education, land management, forestry, and government and defense applications.

The Product

GeoRover Mobile is a program that resides on mobile devices (phones or tablets) that operate using the Android platform and integrates available global positioning system (GPS) and Wi-Fi networks to provide current location data and other information. The application enables users to create waypoints, track logs and routes when connected to an internal or external GPS, including Bluetooth, to obtain real-time connection.

 

The software solution is comprised of the GeoRover Mobile Desktop extension for the Esri ArcGIS desktop application and the Mobile application for Android devices. Using a unique Map-Pack process, the SAIC GeoRover Mobile solution can create maps packaged with other layers to quickly share information between desktop and mobile software applications. The toolbar allows users to easily import and export points, lines and polygons from new or existing feature layers and base maps from raster datasets. Users can also link photos, including geotagged photos, or voice recordings to features within the mapping application.

The list of the features provided by the GeoRover Mobile includes the following ones:

• Interactive touch screen functionality for adding point, line or polygon features to existing layers
• Editing of feature classes with domain values set in layer schema
• Capability to attach photos, including geotagged photos, or voice recording to point, line or polygon features
• Creation of waypoints, track logs and routes when connected to an internal or external GPS, including Bluetooth, to obtain real-time location
• Capability to move selected point or reshape a line or polygon feature with versatile vertex editing

Comments

"We are pleased to provide customers with mobile GIS solutions for the Android platform, delivering the ability to visualize map content while collecting data even in the most remote locations," said John Thomas, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager. "This new technology demonstrates SAIC's ability to offer cutting edge mobile solutions helping solve difficult problems."